Rutgers defensive back Ian Thomas (23) returns an interception against Fresno State in the season opener. / Cary Edmondson-USA TODAY Sports

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PISCATAWAY — Neither Ian Thomas’ abrupt move from receiver to cornerback last season nor his even more abrupt ascension to the top of the depth chart this season offered anything near the surprise level rippling through the Rutgers football program Tuesday afternoon when Thomas decided to quit football.

Rutgers coach Kyle Flood announced after practice that Thomas has left the program and will pursue a baseball career at a different school. It is not known whether Thomas will finish the academic semester at Rutgers.

“I didn’t really see a sign that it would happen,” Flood said. “It’s a strange occurrence to me, but it happens. It happens here and it happens at other places. I saw an article (Monday) about a kid at UCF (sacks leader Blake Keller) who was playing for them and decided it wasn’t the right place for him for whatever reason. Players make those decisions. Division I football is certainly demanding and if you’re not 100 percent and your heart is not in it then I could see why somebody would want to move on.”

Thomas, who did not return a voicemail left on his cell phone, did not play high school baseball said his football coach (Anthony Burgos) at Franklin High School, which is located in a Baltimore suburb. Burgos said he was “very surprised” by Thomas’ decision because “it’s not something he talked about.”

But Thomas was known around Rutgers as a big fan of the Baltimore Orioles.

“Baseball has always been one of my favorite sports to play and favorite sports to watch,” Thomas told ScarletReport.com in August. “I grew up watching it, grew up playing it, so I still follow it to this day.”

A former three-star recruit as a receiver, Thomas redshirted last season and moved to cornerback during bowl preparations. He earned the team’s Most Improved Defensive Player award during spring practice.

“I was kind of shocked,” redshirt junior strong safety Lorenzo Waters said. “He was a great player for us and I thought he really could’ve helped this team out.”

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Even with limited experience, Thomas started three of the first six games – he remains Rutgers’ only cornerback with an interception – for an inexperienced secondary that seems to get younger by the day.

“Ian and I were very close friends actually and we talked all the time,” sophomore receiver Leonte Carroo said. “But nothing like that ever came up. It was very shocking to me.”

Rutgers, which is ranked 118th out of 123 FBS teams in pass defense, is still dealing with the aftermath of losing senior cornerback and five-game starter Lew Toler to a likely season-ending broken arm. Even with the return of redshirt junior cornerback Gareef Glashen from a two-game absence due to personal reasons, Rutgers’ top five at the position combine for four total career starts – one more than Thomas had.

True freshman Nadir Barnwell has made three starts and true freshman Anthony Cioffi played his first significant time last week against Louisville, while true freshman Delon Stephenson, who has been practicing at safety and playing special teams, and redshirt freshman Jevon Tyree suddenly are in the mix.

“I’m really excited about the opportunity this provides for the freshmen,” Flood said. “We’ve got a couple guys in Nadir and Anthony who have really showed flashes of doing a really nice job for us. Getting Gareef Glashen back as of today is going to help us a little bit build some depth.”

Rutgers has two weeks to sort out the situation before a unit that already surrendered 1,250 passing yards to Fresno State’s Derek Carr, SMU’s Garrett Gilbert and Louisville’s Teddy Bridgewater faces the No. 1 ranked total offense in the American Athletic Conference in Houston.

“In life in general you are going to go through stuff that is unexpected,” free safety Jeremy Deering said, “and you have to make the right adjustments.”

Court date delayed

Redshirt sophomore Tejay Johnson’s trial on charges, including simple assault, from his involvement in an alleged incident over the summer during which a group held a 35-year-old man against his well has been set for an unknown date in December in Egg Harbor Township Municipal Court, according to the Egg Harbor Current.

Johnson, who is a key player in Rutgers’ beleaguered secondary, is pleading not guilty.

Flood will not comment on the matter until the legal process is complete.